sailing 2012 - lessons learned

[dylanwinter]

when I was a kid at the end of each year I was a better sailor than I started it

now....

just standing still would be good

however, I have learned a few things this year

starters for two

changing boats is a lot of work

but a good boat swap is a great investment in your favourite sport

and

beware who you lend your trailer to

anything you have learned this year about sailing?

beware though... anything you say might be mangled and distorted as part of an sca column



Dylan

here is a third from me

pumping and hooching is now legal

I was really surprised about that one

 

[Babylon]

I learnt that, when the going gets tough, there's a firm but kindly Sergeant-Major in my head who calls me 'laddie' and cajoles me along.

Mind you, I also discovered a piss-taking Glaswegian in there... which doesn't make sense as my granny was from Edinburgh!

 

[Yantlet]

As far as I am concerned,"Pumping and Hooching" should stay where it belongs - in dodgy low budget porno movies! Once you allow that sort of carry on the results become a lottery of kinetic energy, not sailing ability.

 

[Searush]

I learnt that it rains a lot.

That it doesn't pay to get your tides wrong for Anglesey North Stack

That I can get 6 adults & a dog on my 6-berth boat for a week's cruise, which I wouldn't have believed possible.

 

[jimi]

I learnt it rains a lot on the West Coast of Scotland! Something I should already have known as I spent the first 25 years of my life there ;-)

 

[planteater]

I've learned that improve my sailing I need to spend more time motoring.

I'm not comfortable with the controls and handling of my boat under power - I need to address this.

 

[Seajet]

I learned - well, confirmed yet again - to grab and make good use of any decent weather early in the season, as it may well be all I'm going to get !

Agree about pumping and ooching BTW, what clown thought that a good idea ?!

 

[ProDave]

I learned when someone says "next years weather will be better" they are probably lieing

In particular, beware of weather men who tell you it's going to be a "barbeque summer"

 

[[70521]]

I learnt that it rains a lot.

+1 says a grumpy west coast Scots engineer.

 

[dylanwinter]

I agree

I learned when someone says "next years weather will be better" they are probably lieing

In particular, beware of weather men who tell you it's going to be a "barbeque summer"

do not trust the weather man when he looks long into the future

he knows nuffink

that said

on the East Anglian coast

average rainfall 22 inches - it has been a pretty good summer

you guys have the scenery and the clear water.... but you can't argue with the rainfall stats

it does seem that, this year, the weather often hit the west coast and got stuck there

the weather is changing for sure and I think that the wether man's algorythmns are failing miserably

Dylan

 

[DJE]

pumping and hooching is now legal

I was really surprised about that one

Makes the Finn class look more like a rowing event than sailing.

 

[onesea]

How accustomed you get to speed, having moved to 35' from 24'. I had raced 30-40 boats regularly until 15 years ago...

Now suddenly 6-7 knots in a busy Solent can be a shock (particularly single handed). Although the rewards in open waters are worth it .

Also like some one said in there signature the Solent looks very different when drawing 2m not 2' ...

 

[Baggywrinkle]

What I learnt in 2012 ....

My normally docile, bland and functional AWB (I love her really) turns into a bit of a handful when over-canvassed with a strong wind on the aft beam - wallet, camera and mobile phone ended up in the dogs water bowl as she rounded up and bit me - but boy were we making good progress.

Despite allegedly having practically no tide to speak of in the Med, the passage between KrK and Mali Losinj at Osor can have a wicked current running through it.

Lightning isn't much fun, especially when it's striking the land all around you - and the storms carrying it aren't as predictable or easy to outmanoevre as one might at first think.

Looking forward to learning some more in 2013.

 

[nimbusgb]

Yes I can handle my 11.6m yacht single handed in 40 knots.
Yes one does need a harness and lifejacket nearby in summer in Greece.
CQR's are not as bad as some forumites believe.

Adrenaline is addictive!

 

[Scillypete]

To never again offer (in a weak moment, ie drunk) to help swmbo when she mentions a little bit of redecorating, she knows I hate it and would rather go sailing

 

[aroona]

That 3 large adults, & 2 teenagers in a tinker tramp cannot surf into a beach, even if it has a beach bar & BBQ, without getting very wet - although not as bad as the hobie cat that pitch poled in the surf next to us !

And its a good idea to leave the iphone on the nav table

 

[Blueboatman]

I learnt that no matter how posh your telly, it's mostly carp, at £144 minimum cost too...
And the two hours per night, or 700hours a year, if you spend just a fraction of that time fettling or burning rope ends or servicing yer outboard, buying books n learning a tad more about sailing.....the benefits and enjoyment seem to last a bit longer too.


Yours, aye, smugluddite

 

[Babylon]

I learnt that no matter how posh your telly, it's mostly carp, at £144 minimum cost too...
And the two hours per night, or 700hours a year, if you spend just a fraction of that time fettling or burning rope ends or servicing yer outboard, buying books n learning a tad more about sailing.....the benefits and enjoyment seem to last a bit longer too.


Yours, aye, smugluddite

I once met a guy who'd built a beautiful Oughtred yawl. When I asked him how he found the time (navy engineer and family man), he replied "I just gave up watching Corrie!"

 

[sighmoon]

I learned:

To be careful when stepping off the boat - if you slip a little with your foot at a funny angle, the ankle may rupture.

When I'm tired, I make very poor decisions.

Motorboatalists (as Dylan calls 'em) can be very kind and helpful people, who know a lot about engines and don't mind getting their hands dirty.

Hull is surprisingly pleasant.

 

[Wunja]

I learned that its a really good idea to plan a watch below before both crew members fall asleep in the cockpit.